The plan is to reach 75 Liht Organics retail touchpoints by June-July 2020 and touch the 200-mark across the GCC by year-end, shares Nerissa Low, founder of Singaporean organic and ethical cosmetics brand Liht Organics.

Founded exactly a year ago in March 2019, Liht Organics can be found in Lulu Group’s beauty concept, BLSH – which offers a lifestyle flavour with an affluent positioning. Currently, the brand is present in 22 BLSH stores in Lulu Hypermarkets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and is set to expand its network further – online and offline.

Liht Organics

How has your journey been, so far?

The retail industry is still quite male-dominated. Although we have come a long way, there is a long way to go. Having that said, I think we are fortunate to live in a world where people – men and women – are more accepting of women entrepreneurs and us being independent. Personally, I feel blessed to have met the right people – men and women – who have supported me in my journey. I wouldn’t have been able to scale Liht Organics without the support of my teams in Singapore and the Middle East, in addition to building the right connections around the world. I couldn’t be more appreciative of my angel investors – most of whom happen to be women, although we have some men too. Finally, our female customers have also shown a lot of trust in the brand.

Do you seek inspiration from any other beauty brand?

I find MAC Cosmetics’ avant-garde style quite inspiring. I am attracted to brands that are slightly daring, bold and probably even controversial, because they tend to preach a lot about individuality. After all, make-up is all about self-expression. It helps us (women) to express our creativity and multi-faceted nature.

What is your earliest recollection of using cosmetics?

I started using cosmetics since I was 17 years old. What really thrilled me was the way different colours helped me to express different moods. I felt the physical expression changes our internal state of mind. Everyone is beautiful in their own way; make-up only enhances our features, rather than hiding our flaws.

Being a women-centric brand, do you associate with women-oriented causes?

As part of one of our initiatives, we bought sewing machines for women in Thailand who had lost their husbands – to death, drugs etc – to help them become self-sufficient and bring out their full potential.

Your advice to young women entrepreneurs looking to create their own line of make-up?

It’s a very competitive landscape and anyone who is looking to start a make-up line must be ready for the ride. In my case, I had no idea what to expect. So, I always accepted the unexpected. Our best laid plans may not turn out the way we would like them to, sometimes delighting us and other times frustrating us. It’s definitely challenging, but it’s fun too. If you are embarking on a project, be very passionate, because that will drive you forward.